1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a double mesh balloon catheter device which can be used to expand and remove the buildup of material in a vessel, such as the buildup of plaque in an area of stenosis in a blood vessel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore it has been proposed to provide an angioplasty device having a flexible woven tube which can be contracted axially to cause the woven tube to balloon outwardly to form a mesh balloon in the Luther U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,466.
The Luther patent teaches the construction of such an angioplasty device in the form of a woven tube of tubular fabric mounted forwardly of a catheter and having a guidewire arrangement for retracting the distal end of the tubular fabric relative to the proximal end thereof. The woven tube may be lined with a filter cloth of nylon or polyester which expands with the woven tube for collecting particles and debris and for removing same from a vessel.
As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the double mesh balloon catheter device of the present invention differs from the angioplasty device disclosed in the Luther patent by providing a double tubular mesh assembly including an inner tubular mesh and an outer tubular mesh. Both tubular meshes can be axially contracted together to create a double mesh balloon and a mechanism is provided for rotating the inner tubular mesh within the outer tubular mesh to shave off plaque material extending through both meshes.